GranuProd - Granule-based single-step electrode production system with intelligent production control

Almost 40 % of the energy required in the production of battery cells is used for drying solvent-containing pastes in electrode production. The goal of the research project GranuProd is the solvent-reduced production of battery electrodes in order to reduce the energy and space requirements in the electrode production of lithium-ion batteries (LIB). In the InZePro competence cluster, the leading research institutions in the field of LIB production are combining their competencies in order to develop and expand knowledge and expertise on production processes and cross-process chain interrelationships in cooperation projects.

The GranuProd project is part of the competence cluster "Intelligente Batteriezellproduktion" (InZePro) and is funded over three years. The aim of the project is the prototypical implementation of a solvent-reduced single-step electrode production on a pilot scale. Compared to classical electrode production with slot die, the reduced solvent content makes the pastes highly viscous, so that they have to be processed via a rolling mill with more than 2 rolls. This is achieved by a new plant technology which combines the process steps of coating, drying and calendering required in the conventional process in a single step. Product quality shall be ensured by intelligent control in combination with a digital twin of the plant. In addition to the iwb, the project consortium includes partners from the Institute for Particle Technology (iPAT, TU Braunschweig) and the Institute for Thin Film Technology (TFT, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology).

The iwb is primarily focusing on the selection and connection of inline sensor technology and its integration into an intelligent control model. The conception and implementation of the control strategy also includes new approaches based on artificial intelligence. The integration of a digital twin of the plant enables a further improvement of the plant control by an accurate prediction of the electrode properties. The quality of the manufactured electrodes is validated by building large-scale cells (5 Ah) at iwb and compared with reference cells.

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